October 15, 2004

Boycott or Buy? Part 2

In Boycott or Buy? Part 1 I encouraged each of you to make your own fair and balanced decision as how you might respond to the Sinclair Broadcasting issue. I still do.

Jim Henley reminds us, though, that it should not be an FCC issue at all:

It may arguably be bad business, in which case they'll pay, but it's not the FCC's business. I enjoyed the hell out of the Sundance Channel's live broadcast of the Vote for Change finale concert last night. That wasn't station owners using their facilities for partisan political purposes?

I enjoyed listening to Vote for Change on a local radio station and Jim's question jumped into mind just about two songs1 in...

I agree with Jim that it should not the FCC's business. Primarily because the FCC should not even exist.

Sinclair owns the stations so they should be able to broadcast what they want. We can use our channel changers or the power switch to watch or not watch and we can choose to buy or not buy from their sponsors.

However, Sinclair Broadcasting along with their media and corporate ilk exist in the form they do only with the complicity of their regulatory monitors partners and our their executive, legislative, and judicial representatives. As long as this parasitic partnership rides on our backs it seems perfectly reasonable to pour sugar in its tanks and turn one limb against the other to the extent possible.